


Monochrome

by sailorwoon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2015-01-31
Packaged: 2018-02-15 18:05:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2238387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailorwoon/pseuds/sailorwoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jongin has a final year project to do, and Sehun is a coffee worker who volunteers to be the centre of Jongin’s story (in more than one way).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“I hate this.” Jongin complained, planting his face heavily against the table in front. An arm encircled its way around Jongin’s back.

“You can do it Jongin, I know you can. You have always achieved great things. I still can’t believe you are top of the class!” The person next to sighed handing a glass of water to the complaining male.

“Yes, but this final year dissertation is going to kill me, I swear. I don’t even know what to do.” Jongin turned to the male next to him, staring at him hopefully.

“Don’t look at me, I have no clue what you even need to do. I am not that academically capable unlike you.” Jongin opened up his laptop, typing in the term ‘medical mysteries’ into the search engine. A list of results flashed on the screen and he glanced through the outcomes.

“I have to do an essay on a medical mystery, but it just seems impossible. There are so many different ones, which isn’t the problem. The issue is that there is pretty much no information about any of the diseases or infections because no one knows anything about them. How am I even meant to find anyone with the disease? There aren’t exactly many people with, I don’t know, a water allergy.” The other male laughed. Just because Jongin was the cleverest person in his class evidently did not correlate with common sense.

“I can’t believe you are being so naive Jongin, there is one medical mystery that is around everyone. It just a coincidence that we weren’t affected by it. Or maybe we are or will in the future. We don’t even know.”

Jongin stared blankly at the other male, trying to work out what he was talking about. “What?”

“Why don’t you do your final year dissertation on the Greyscale Pandemic?”

 

 

It began in the year 2000. They called it the Greyscale Pandemic. On a person’s seventeenth birthday, at the time they were born, would become colour blind and only see the world in black and white. However, this only affected a few people: about half of the population. The rest of society lived life normally with coloured vision.

That was until some people who had Greyscale was suddenly able to see the colours again whilst other people who had ordinary vision became colour blind all of a sudden.

It remained a medical mystery for many years.

The illness created problems. Many people who required coloured sight as part of their job lost their profession as they could not perform the appropriate tasks properly. Occupations included doctors, designers and teachers. Nowadays, before a person could go to university to do their chosen degree, they would had to take an extra test to see if they were affected by Greyscale.

Most people came accustomed to the illness with the assumption that everyone had it and it was part of the luck in whether they got affected by it or not. In a way, it helped with society being that everyone thought that if they were good to the culture, then they would be rewarded with normal sight when they became seventeen. Others just lived life to the fullest where they would try to achieve as much as possible before they reached the age.

It was the perfect topic for Jongin’s essay, really. He could try and find the cause of the disease or infection (whatever it was). He had been particularly lucky. For he was one of the fortunate people who did not get affected by it and was able to chase his dreams of becoming a doctor. Because of the lack of people passing the Greyscale test, Jongin was able to get into a respectable university to study the course of his dreams.

Jongin sat at the table on his own at a local coffee shop, pieces of paper sprawled out where he had written possible ideas of the causes of the illness. He was still waiting for his order to arrive, a caramel macchiato, but he could tell that the café was a little busy so he continued to focus on his work.

That was until some brown hot liquid spilt onto him and his work.

“Oh my goodness! I am so sorry! I honestly didn’t mean to. The café is really hectic right now and I just slipped as I tried to bring you your drink. Hang on let me get you some tissues.” Jongin stared at his work as the worker ran off. His pieces of paper with all of his work! What was he going to do!? He was certain that now he would probably fail this project and then fail university and live out the rest of his life on the streets.

A wad of tissues were thrown onto him and the table as the worker came back. “I hope this is okay and that I didn’t ruin anything. Oh my goodness, I am going to get fired. I really don’t want to get fired. I need the funds if I want to go to univers-”

“It’s okay.” Jongin smiled, inspecting the worker. Tall, probably taller than him, with a light shade of brown hair. He turned to the worker’s name badge: Sehun.

“Honestly, if you want me to do anything for you, I will do it. Do you want me to rewrite your notes for you?” Sehun asked, continuing to wipe the table with the tissues and throwing them away in a nearby bin.

Jongin lifted his damp notes, inspecting the damage. “My notes seem okay actually, there wasn’t a lot written on them and I had used biro ink so it hasn’t really smudged. It won’t take me too long to write them again anyway – they were just rough notes.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I finish work in about fifteen minutes, if you want, you can come round to my place and I can wash your clothes? I am not forcing you, only if you want to.”

Jongin smiled. “Sure, that sounds great.”

 

 

Sehun walked back to the table twenty minutes later. “I am sorry that I am slightly late, the manager had a rant at me for causing such a mess. I have been docked today’s wage, but at least I haven’t been fired.” Sehun smiled as he waited for Jongin to pack up his items. When Jongin was ready, Sehun led the tanned male out of the café and in the direction of his apartment.

“So how old are you Sehun ssi?”

“Well I am sixteen at the moment, but I am turning seventeen in a few weeks. How about you?” Jongin turned his head to face the younger male. Turning seventeen soon? It was going to be a big day for Sehun then as he will be finding out whether or not he has Greyscale.

“Well I am twenty one, currently at university. Are you excited for your big day then?”

“Kind of, but I think I am more nervous. I am not sure how I would cope if I lost the colour of the world. I also want to become a photographer and an artist so if I can’t see colour, I am in big trouble.” Sehun laughed slightly before turning to the older male. “What are you studying?”

“I am training to become a doctor, so yes, I am studying medicine. It is great fun and it is really interesting. I currently have my final year project where I have to do some an essay on a medical mystery, which is interesting, but also hard. There isn’t much information online so I think I am going to resort to handing out questionnaires for people to do.”

“That sounds really interesting, it would be really cool if you could find out the cause of a mystery illness. You would get a Nobel Prize and everything! You would be known as the hero for figuring the cause. And then you would have to find some sort of medicine to solve it. You would become world famous. Ah, we are home. Hang on.” Sehun stopped walking when they reached a block of flats before typing in a few numbers to allow himself into the building. The younger male opened the door, letting Jongin in before taking him up five flights of stairs to his house. Sehun opened his rucksack, rummaging through it to find the key and opened the door. “We are home, it isn’t anything too big, but make yourself at home while I get you some clothes to borrow.”

Sehun walked off to an adjacent room as Jongin stepped in, looking at the walls. He was in awe when he saw the array of pictures and drawings, some hung up on the wall and other canvases leant against it.

Jongin could only think of one thing: if Sehun had Greyscale, then the world would miss out.

“Here.” Jongin turned before realising that there was some clothes being thrown at him. He caught it with ease before standing up. “The bathroom is to your left, just give me your clothes when you are changed. I will also remake your caramel macchiato again, if you want.” Jongin smile and nodded before walking off to the bathroom.

When Jongin returned to the scent of the coffee, he headed towards the kitchen where he found Sehun smiling as he hummed along to nothing. “Ah, thanks, just in time, I have finished making your drink. I will put your clothes in the wash and then join you in the living room.” Sehun smiled as he handed the drink over.

“So, tell me more about your project?” Sehun asked when he returned, a soft whirring from the washing machine could be heard from the background.

“Well I have to do a project on a medical mystery, as you know, so I was thinking about doing a project on the Greyscale Pandemic. But I don’t really know what to do, and how to do it. A case study would be good, but most of the people I know have already passed the age and either are already affect by it or nothing happened. The worst thing about Greyscale is that you can still get it at any point in your life. I guess that is what is most scary about it, I could just wake up tomorrow and have lost the colour of my sight and I would get kicked off my course.” Jongin explained, taking a sip of his drink every now and then.

“I know what you should do. You should do your experiment on me.” Sehun smiled.

“I couldn’t possibly do that, I barely know you.”

“You barely know me, but you willingly followed me to my house and you are still here. And besides, I am turning seventeen soon so you can do experiments on me. Think of it as my way of apologising for spilling the drink all on you earlier.”

“Alright, I guess. But I mean, you will have to spend a lot of time with me as there is a lot of experiments that I need to perform before and after you turn seventeen.”

“Why don’t we start now then?” Sehun questioned. Jongin turned into his bag, before going through one of the plastic wallets. He picked up a piece of paper and handed it over to the younger male.

“This is just confidentiality stuff. I don’t really know how to explain it, just give it a read and sign it if you are happy. Obviously, if you don’t sign it, then I can’t do the experiments on you.” Jongin stated as Sehun read the information before standing up and returning with a pen and signing the confidentiality agreement form.

“Great, now I just want a few bits of information about you. I need to know your full name, your date of birth, contact and other medical information. Obviously, if you don’t know your blood type and stuff, then I can arrange for us to stop off by at the university hospital so I can take some blood samples. We will need to do it anyway later on.”

“If you have the form, I can just fill it in myself.” Jongin handed the piece of paper over to the younger male and watched as Sehun put all of his attention onto the questions. Jongin laughed slightly as he noticed the younger male’s tongue sticking out in concentration.

“Here you go.” Sehun said when he finished, handing back the piece of paper.

“Great, well I guess I should probably go now, it is getting a little late anyway. Thank you for helping me anyway. I will call you once I have checked over everything.” Jongin smiled as he gathered everything back into his bag. A light flash struck Jongin’s eyes and he stepped back.

“Sorry.” Sehun blushed as Jongin blinked to get rid of the blind spots from his eyes. “I am scared that if I lose colour from my sight, I will miss out on a lot, so I want to take many photos to remind me forever of the small things that happen in life.”

Jongin smiled. It was quite a nice thing to do as a way to remember the memories if a person with Greyscale was able to get their coloured vision back. “That’s okay, I will see you another day then. Probably tomorrow.”

“Wait, your clothes!”

“You can give it to me again another time. It isn’t like it is the last time we will be seeing each other anyway.” Jongin smiled before leaving the apartment. As he left the building, his phone went off. “Hey Luhan hyung, where are you?”

_“That was why I was calling! I am waiting outside your apartment, why aren’t you home?”_

“I am sorry, I didn’t realise that you were coming round and I met someone who wanted to take part in my experiment, so I was with him so that he could fill in some forms. I will be home soon.”

There was a pause before he received a response from the other end of the call. _“Alright, I love you.”_

“See you soon, Luhan hyung. I love you too.”

 

 

Jongin called Sehun the next day announcing that he required the younger male to go to the university hospital to do some health checks.

“So why do you need to take my blood pressure? I mean, surely everyone has relatively similar blood pressures, and I doubt Greyscale affects specific people with low or high blood pressure. And with weight, I thought the illness had affected people of all weight. I swear I saw an article that some of the morbidly obese people were affected as well as the skinnier people.”

“I know that, but I need to know about you. You are my case study after all. And anyway, if there is something wrong, I might need to diagnose you, and with this information, it will make the process much easier.” Jongin explained as he reached over to get some medical equipment from one of the shelves.

“Alright, whatever you say. I feel like you are interrogating in my life, having said that, I gave you permission. I guess I just want to know more about you. I don’t even think I know your surname.”

“Kim. Kim Jongin.” Sehun sighed in relief. He had realised that after Jongin had left his apartment, the older male hadn’t even given his name. “I am from Seoul, and I have never tried drinking alcohol, drugs or cigarettes.”

“Really, I guess we will have to change that later, won’t we. Hang on, let me take a picture of you in your doctor’s coat.” Sehun winked at the older male, bringing out his camera to take a quick snap of Jongin, before placing the camera down and stepping up onto the scales. “What do the readings say?”

“Well, it says you are in the lower end of the scale in terms of weight, but you are not anorexic or overly underweight. Nothing particularly exciting. You can get off now. I just need you to sit on the chair over there.” Jongin requested, waiting for the younger male to sit down before wrapping a piece of material around his arm. “This won’t hurt, but you need to relax for this to work. This will measure your blood pressure. And then afterwards, I will need to take a sample of your blood for analysis, alright?” Sehun stared at the older male, nodding weakly and waited for the machine to work.

“Jo-Jongin, we have a slight problem that I have a phobia of needles and I don’t feel so good now.” Sehun explained. Jongin inspected the younger male, noting down that he was looking particularly pale against his already white skin. The student stood up and excused himself as he left his room, returning with a glass of water and some cream in his hands.

“Let me put this against your vein, it will be cold and it will numb the pain when it happens. I can also get you to the bed if you think you will faint. Would that be better for you?” Sehun nodded, and stood up, his legs already feeling weak.

Once the younger male was laid down against the soft bed, Jongin turned Sehun’s head to face the wall before pressing down on the other side of his elbow to look for a suitable vein to pierce through. “Just remember, don’t move, alright?” Sehun nodded, his eyes closing in preparation for the blood test. “So tell me more about yourself. I noticed that you live alone, yet you are only sixteen.”

“My parents don’t really have time for me. They are researchers on Greyscale over in the States actually. They don’t really approve of my desire to become an artist and photographer because they are obviously successful scientists who are very academic, whilst I just like to draw thin- ouch! Get it out!” Sehun cried when the needle pierced the skin.

“Sehun ah, don’t move, if you get agitated, it will only make the blood test take longer.”

“I’m sorry, it just hurts so much.” Sehun crunched his eyes shut, trying to focus his attention away from the pain in his arm. And then everything went dark.

Sehun opened his eyes, the surroundings were blurry. He tried to work out where he was; he could see a bright light from in front of him along with a black figure that he couldn’t quite make out. “Sehun ah, are you okay?” Sehun sat up, everything seemed a bit hazy as he accepted the glass of water from Jongin’s hand.

“What, what happened?”

“You fainted, you scared me slightly. Though it isn’t uncommon to faint. We can finish today if you want. I am pretty certain I have finished with what I needed anyway. I can just pack up and then I can take you home. Does that sound good?” Sehun nodded, laying back down on the bed and using his hands to cover his eyes. His head was throbbing painfully and he just wanted to go to sleep.

“I don’t feel so good.” Sehun whispered, before Jongin held some pills in front of the younger male’s face.

“Here take these, it will help with the headache, and you look really tired now so I chose the ones with a bit of sleeping pills just so you don’t feel the pain as bad.” Sehun accepted the medicine and stood up to get the water before eating the pills. Jongin then grabbed the younger male and helped him out of the building and towards the car park where Jongin’s car was located.

Jongin drove up towards Sehun’s apartment block and parked in an adjacent road, and turned to see that the younger male had fallen asleep in the passenger seat next to him. He poked the other male lightly to try to wake him up but the latter responded with a “later mum” and turned around, his head leaning against the wall of the car.

“Shit.” Jongin whispered, remembering that to get into the building he would have to enter a code to access it. The older male turned the engine on once again and headed to the other side of the city.

 

 

Sehun woke up several hours later in an unfamiliar bed. He stared around the room, looking at the pictures on the dresser. It looked like Jongin with some other guy. A friend maybe? His head still hurt, but he sat up, looking for a glass of water. There was none in the room, so he exited the bedroom in search of the kitchen.

“You’re up.” Sehun turned to see Jongin smiling at him from the sofa. “Are you feeling better?”

Sehun nodded. “Much better thank you. Could I possibly have a glass of water please?” Jongin nodded and stood up, walking off to an adjacent room to what Sehun assumed to be the kitchen.

Jongin returned not long later with a glass of water and some biscuits. “I thought you might be a little bit hungry. It is now nine in the evening now. I can cook you a small meal instead if you want before you go home if you want.”

Sehun shook his head. “No I shouldn’t. I would feel bad for you if I ate all of your food.”

“That is okay, I haven’t cooked dinner for myself yet either, so it would be no hassle. Come, you can help me if that would make you feel happier.” Sehun followed Jongin to the kitchen and sat at one of the stools. “I am not one of the most competent cooks. Luhan hyung often cooks for me which has made it easier for me and it allowed me to focus on my academics a lot, but I can cook some udon if you want. We can add some vegetables and meat too.” Sehun nodded and smiled. “Well, I don’t have a lot, but I have some luncheon meat and broccoli. Yes that will do I guess.” Sehun watched as Jongin turned on the kettle and added the meat to a pan. “Come on, Sehun ah, you can look after the meat while I sort out the noodles and vegetables.”

Sehun stood up, walking to the cooker and moved the slices of luncheon meat around the pan to allow it to cook on both sides. He turned down the heat slightly when he noticed that Jongin still had not put the vegetables in the saucepan yet.

“Here, put the meat on top of everything, then we can carry them over to the dining table in the living room.” Jongin said, once the vegetables and noodles were cooked, moving them over to some glass bowls. Sehun nodded, turning off the cooker and using some chopsticks to move an equal number of luncheon slices to each bowl.

He then handed one bowl to the older male and picked the other one up for himself and followed Jongin out of the room and to the table. He took out his camera, snapping a picture of Jongin carrying his bowl of noodles.

They both sat down and opposite ends of the table and began eating. “Who is Luhan? I saw a few pictures of him in your bedroom.”

“Luhan hyung? He is my boyfriend. We met back in high school, we were both in the same year and then became best friends. Our relationship grew from then and we have been together for just over five years now. It has been a long time, I know.” Jongin laughed.

“Wow that is a long time. Are you going to propose to him any time soon?”

“Hmm, I am not sure, I mean I really do love him, but we are both really young. The thought of getting married in my early twenties is kind of scary. Plus, I need to focus on my studies. Luhan is really supportive though and helps me a lot. Sometimes, I feel guilty because I think I am pulling him back, but he just smiles and says it is okay. I think he is going back to China in a month anyway so that he can visit his family and do some studying over in Beijing. It will be good for him to finally go out and do what he wants. I guess I will have to improve my cooking before then because I will have to cook by myself for the time he has gone, haha!”

“That is cute, he must be really linguistic to be able to speak in so many languages. Goodness, I feel so un-academic in comparison.”

“Of course not, even though you choose not to study the more academic subjects, art is necessary in the world. I don’t do it anymore, but I really enjoyed dancing. If it hadn’t been for my interest in medicine and if I had been affected by Greyscale, then I probably would have gone into dance. Ballet in particular.”

“That sounds really cool! Show me some of your dancing!” Sehun requested, pushing Jongin out from his chair.

“I can’t. I have just eaten, I don’t particularly want stomach ache from forcing myself into strenuous activity.” Sehun laughed. “It is! Especially when I haven’t done it in such a long time.”

“Alright, next time then. Besides, I think it is best if I go now, it is getting late. Thank you for looking after me. We can meet up again another day. And we will need to meet up on my birthday so that you can find out if I have Greyscale or note.” Sehun stood up, seeing that his coat was by the door and walked towards it.

“I can drive you home if you want.”

“No it fine, I can catch the bus home. I’ll see you. Thank you for dinner.” Sehun smiled, walking out of the door and waving at his new friend.

 

 

Two weeks passed really quickly as the two males continued to meet up, regardless of whether it was for Jongin’s project, or just because they wanted to go to a nearby coffee shop to chat. The older male noticed that Sehun would take photos of him every time they met, whether it be one of Jongin with a drink, or just standing on the side of the road. Jongin had to take Sehun to the opticians at one point (where Sehun took another photo of him) so that he could have his eye checked for any problems, which came out negative. Soon, it was almost Sehun’s birthday, and the younger male got more and more nervous of the event.

“Don’t worry, I am sure you will not get affected by it. And anyway, you will still be the same Sehun as before, the cheerful one who likes to take photos spontaneously. And if you do lose the colour of sight, we will figure a way so that you can still go to university to study art. As long as you are passionate, I know you can achieve anything.”

 

 

Jongin’s phone rang. “Sehun ah, happy birthday! Have you received anything nice?” Jongin didn’t hear a response other than some sounds that sounded somewhat like sniffles. “Sehun ah, I am coming round right now; stay where you are.”

The medical student ran out of his apartment and into his car. Twenty minutes later, he arrived outside of the building where Sehun lived. He pressed the buzzer and waited for the younger male to allow him inside. Once he was in, he ran up the stair to Sehun’s flat, pressing the doorbell once. The door opened, revealing the younger male, in his pyjamas, covering his face to hide his tears.

“J-Jongin, I can’t see colours anymore.” Sehun cried rushing forward and enveloping the older male in a hug. And Jongin’s only thought was to comfort the younger male.

He led the crying male to the sofa, setting him down before hugging him tightly whilst whispering sweet words in Sehun’s ear. As much as he wanted to, he knew it was wrong to get Sehun to stand up and let him take tests to figure out what caused Sehun to become colour blind.

Soft snores could be heard and Jongin knew that Sehun had fallen asleep. He let the younger male go and walked to his bag to pick up some paper and a pen. He wrote down several facts and ideas that could have possibly have been the cause. He also thought about how he could help Sehun achieve his dream to study art.

When Sehun awoke, Jongin noted how the younger male blinked several times as if he was trying to adjust himself to this new way of living. “I have had a thought, I think I know how you can study art at university.”

“I don’t want to do it anymore.” Sehun stared blankly at Jongin, no happiness evident in his eyes.

“I know how you can do it though.”

“Just get out, Jongin, I want to be alone.” Sehun cried, wrapping his arms around his legs.

Jongin stood up, placing a piece of paper on the table before walking to the door. “Alright, but when you are feeling better, just read what I have written on the piece of paper in front of you.” Jongin left with a heavy heart, closing the door slowly as he spent as long time as possible to stare at the crying boy.

It was probably an hour before Sehun’s tears ran dry. He sat up, looking around at the world, and how different it seemed. He saw the piece of paper in front of him, like Jongin had said, and he picked it up, reading the words on the page.

The piece of paper dropped from his grasp as a fresh wave of tears came over him, along with a new sense of determination and hope.

 

_Sehun ah,_

_You don’t need to be sad, you are still perfect the way you are and as long as you are passionate about what you do, you can achieve anything. I have an idea on how you can incorporate it to your work. Why don’t you try painting something with what you can see now? With the shades of black, grey and white. It will definitely show that you have a different perspective. I can come round if you are feeling better, just give me a call and we can try together to let you live your dreams!_

_Hwaiting!_

_Kim Jongin_

_“Jongin ssi, I am ready for you to do the tests on me.”_ Jongin was surprised. He only left Sehun’s apartment around an hour ago and Sehun was already ready to continue to help him with his project. Maybe Sehun was just really determined to help Jongin, and even try to help himself get the colour in his vision again. Jongin ran back to the younger male’s apartment, having only stayed at a nearby café in case Sehun was in trouble at any point.

When he arrived, Sehun opened the door. He was already changed and ready to go, so Jongin grabbed the younger male’s hand and they walked out towards the university hospital. “Are you sure you are feeling okay? We don’t have to do anything too taxing if you don’t feel like it.” Sehun shook his head. “Alright, I will take you to the opticians to see if your vision has changed. I doubt it has though.”

Jongin led the younger male to a room on the right, before calling the same person who checked Sehun’s eyes before. He entered the room a little later and requested for the younger male to take a seat at one of the machines. “Alright, just to remind you, there are lots of spots on the screens, I need you to cover your right eye and then tell me how many dots you can see that light up.” Sehun nodded and responded accordingly. Jongin noticed the younger male scrunch up his face in concentration as if he found it difficult to see the different colours.

“Alright, now if you sit at this machine, I will take pictures of your eyes and see if there is anything wrong with your eyes. I warn you, there will be a bright flash.” The optician took the photos and Sehun pulled back, trying to blink the bright spots away from his eyes. ”Right, looking at the images right now. I can’t see anything wrong with your eyes, they look like they are in the same condition as they were before your birthday. I noticed you were having difficulty counting the number dots on screen, however, I think it is because the colour of the dots are quite similar to the background and so your brain is just having difficult with you only seeing everything in varying degrees of grey.”

“Thank you, if you could, please could you just write down that information and then send it to me.” Jongin smiled, bowing and then pulling the younger male out of the room. “Come on, let’s take you home. I want to give you your birthday present.”

When they arrived at Sehun’s house, Jongin produced a small bag. Sehun gratefully opened the gift and noted that there was two types of paint and from what he could tell, one was black, and the other one was white. “I know it isn’t very big or particularly thoughtful, but I want you to paint something now with what you can see with your current vision. I know it will be amazing. You can mix the paint together to get different shades of grey and stuff. I just think it will help with you reaching your dream. I bought it when you sent me out of your house earlier.”

“Thanks.” Sehun smiled. “I actually really like it. How about you write up your notes from today on the dining table and I will get my paintbrushes?” Jongin nodded, walking to the table and opening his book.

They worked respectively in silence for several hours with the sound of Jongin tapping into his laptop being the only thing that resonated in the room. “How is it going?” Jongin asked, standing up to walk towards Sehun who was focussing on painting.

“Don’t come near! Stay where you are, I want to show you when I have finished, and so don’t dare come over and look!” Sehun cried, continuing to focus on his work. Jongin noticed Sehun’s tongue sticking out in concentration.

“Alright.” Jongin replied, walking back to his seat. His phone rang and he picked it up. “Hello. How are you? Yes I am good thanks. Why did you call? Oh you want me to spend the next few days with you? I guess that is reasonable since you are going to China. I have a few last tests to run with through with Sehun but I am pretty much free after that. How about I come round to your house the day after tomorrow? Alright, I will get you a present so that you remember me forever. I will see you soon then. I love you. Bye”

“Who was that?” Sehun asked once Jongin had ended the call.

“Luhan hyung. He is going to China next week and I haven’t spent much time with him. He wants to spend his remaining days with me which I guess is reasonable. I need to arrange a load of activities to do with him. I hear a funfair is coming to the city soon so I will take him to that.”

“Yeah you should, take lots of pictures and then you can make him a photo album so that he remembers you. Oh, you can come now, I have just about finished it.” Sehun smiled, waving his arm to get the older male to walk over to him.

What Jongin saw, shocked him. It was a painting, rather abstract but mind blowing. Next to the canvas was a picture of him, in his doctor’s suit. It was a photo Sehun had taken the day Jongin was taking all the tests on the younger man. And on the canvas, was a black and white representation of the same picture. Jongin was lost for words. Of all things, Sehun chose Jongin to draw. “I drew you because you were the one who gave me the idea to draw what I see in black and white. What do you think?”

“It… it is amazing. You really should chase your dreams you know.”

“You think so? I wasn’t sure I would still have it in me. I guess it feels a bit weird because I am seeing things from a different perspective. I might use the paintings that I have already done and make a copy of it by painting it again in black and white. I could use it in my portfolio.”

“That sounds like a brilliant idea. You should do that. I know that you will impress the professors with it.” Jongin looked at his watch. “Goodness, is that the time? Shall we go out to a restaurant? I don’t feel like cooking and I am sure you don’t either.” Sehun nodded.

“Let me just wash the paintbrushes and tidy up. It will only take a few minutes.” Sehun came back a little later, wearing clean clothes. “Come on, let’s go.” Sehun grabbed Jongin’s wrist, pulling the older male out of the apartment. “I know this cute restaurant we can go to, the ajumma is really lovely and the food is delicious.” Jongin nodded, allowing the younger male to pull him along.

The restaurant was small, nothing really big, but it looked cosy. Sehun chose a seat in the corner of the diner, and handed a menu to the older male. “If we order a couple of dishes then we can just share whatever is in the centre.” Jongin nodded, looking at the options.

“Is there anything you want in particular?”

“I would like some Samgyeopsal and some rice. Ajumma will bring us a grill which we can cook it on.”

“Yeah that sounds good. We can ask for some vegetables to go with it too. How does that sound?” Sehun nodded before notifying the worker that they were ready to order. Jongin placed the order. “Do you feel better now that you are still have a chance of achieving your dreams?”

Sehun nodded happily. “I think it was more of a shock at first. It was quite hard to comprehend the world in shades of grey. It still is a bit weird, but I think I am slowly becoming accustomed to it. I mean, I might as well continue with life now. There is no point in moping about the negative things in life. I should just focus on making the most of having Greyscale.”

“That is really good that you have a positive attitude to it. I know it is hard. I have been thinking about it, and I don’t think this it is a disease of an infection. I mean, I have been looking at your test results and there is nothing wrong with you. Your eyesight is still perfect and your health is still the same as three weeks ago. I actually think it is something to do with the brain, maybe some hardwiring in the brain? I mean, it isn’t an illness as you evidently are not ill. I still haven’t worked it out yet, I need to do more research but I am concerned that it will come out with nothing because I don’t think there is an external factor causing it.”

“That sounds really confusing. How is your paper going?”

“Hard, I mean, I have written some of it, but I am concerned that I won’t be able to end it or anything. Maybe if I did a survey to find out about all different people to see about their circumstances such as their social situation, their family income and see if I can find any correlation.”

“That could work. We can hand them out at my work for them to do while they drink their coffee.”

The worker came over with the food and the grill. “Thank you. And yes that would be good. We can write the questionnaire tomorrow after I have done a few more tests on you.” Jongin moved some of the meat on to the grill, letting it sizzle for a while.

“What are you going to do when Luhan leaves for China?”

“Hmm, I am not sure. We are going to do a long distance relationship because he isn’t going to be in China for too long. I know I am going to cry when he leaves because I will miss him. But we will try to make it easier by Skyping a lot. I will try to fly over to China as well. It shouldn’t be too bad because China is just a little bit off in terms of time zones.” Jongin explained, picking up the meat and placing one slice onto Sehun’s plate and the other one on his own.

“I think it is good that even though you love Luhan, you are letting him go off and do what he wants. I have heard of people who completely changed because of the other person. They slotted themselves into the person’s life and sort of do everything together.”

“Well I mean, I already feel like I am holding back and he wants the opportunity, I don’t want to hold him back anymore. Shall we get ajumma to bring the bill over now?” Sehun nodded as he finished his last bite. The ajumma came over with a piece of paper with the price. Jongin brought out his wallet, getting ready to pay.

“Stop, Jongin hyung, let me pay.” Jongin ignored Sehun and handed the appropriate amount of cash to the ajumma.

“No can do, mister. It is still your birthday after all. Think of it as your birthday present.” Sehun sighed in defeat. He knew that there was no way Jongin would let him pay. He would have to repay the older male another day.

“Fine, but next time, I am going to be paying. Alright? But thank you Jongin hyung, I had a really nice birthday, even if it did turn out that I have Greyscale.” Jongin stood up, extending his hand out to the younger male.

“Alright, come on, let me walk you home.” The walk home was silent as they thought about their respective things. When they arrived, Jongin walked Sehun up to his door. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Jongin smiled, leaning in to give the younger male a hug. The surroundings became stuffy and he wasn’t sure what to do. He placed his lips on Sehun’s pale ones, pulling back almost immediately. “I- I am so sorry, I better go.” Jongin left the building without turning his head back once.


	2. Chapter 2

 “Look, about last night. I am so sorry, I don’t know what came over me, but it was wrong. I mean, I have a boyfriend. I don’t want to give you the wrong idea, let’s just focus on the project for today and forget about what happened yesterday.” Jongin rambled when he knocked on Sehun’s door the next morning.

“What are you even talking about?” Sehun smiled, winking. Jongin smiled back with appreciation before letting himself in.

“So I have been thinking about questions that I need to include in the questionnaire. I thought about having things like current income with approximate values and number of siblings and such, is there anything you think I can add?”

“Hmm, how about whether they are single, in a relationship, married?” Jongin nodded writing it down on his laptop as Sehun continued to copy another one of his paintings in black and white.

“I just finished this painting, Jongin hyung, what do you think?” Sehun asked after a couple of hours.

“Sehun ah, this is amazing. Do you mind if I can take a picture of this so I can add this into my dissertation? It will give me the opportunity to write about your perspective of Greyscale.” Sehun nodded and handed his camera over to the older male. “If you just email the pictures to me, then I can add it in. Oh and before I forget, Luhan hyung is having a leaving party before he goes to China. He wants you to go because he noticed that we have been spending lots of time together. There will be alcohol, but don’t worry, I won’t be drinking. I will look after you and you can always leave early.”

“Sure, it will be nice meeting your friends anyway.”

“Great, I will pick you up on Thursday at seven. I have to go now, Luhan wants to go to the cinema tonight. Apparently there is a reshowing of Back to the Future and he wants to see it.” Jongin stood up and put his laptop in his bag.

“Alright, I will see you then.” Sehun smiled, waving to Jongin before walking back to his artwork. He finally had the courage to apply to study art. He had the belief that he could achieve so much even with having lost the colour in his vision.

 

 

Sehun was having a panic. It was precisely 6.30pm and he had no idea what to wear. Jongin was going to be at his house in thirty minutes and at this moment in time, it seemed as if he was going to be going to the party in just a pair of boxers. Did he have to wear a suit? Or could he get away with just wearing casual clothing? He could go smart casual, wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt. Yes, that could work. Sehun rushed to his closet, pulling out a pair of skinny jeans to which he assumed was navy in colour and a shirt. He put on the clothes and stared at his reflection in the mirror before putting his thumbs up in approval.

The doorbell rang, and Sehun gulped and walked to the door. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Jongin standing at the door with jeans and a t-shirt. “Are you ready?” Sehun nodded and closed the door behind him, following the older man to the car.

The drive didn’t take too long, probably ten minutes before approaching a large house. Sehun could already hear the music coming from the building as he followed Jongin to the front door. The older male opened the door and showed him to the living room where everyone was stood up in a small circle, chatting. “Guys, this is Sehun, he has been helping me with my project over the past few weeks. Luhan hyung wanted me to bring him along.”

“I guess it is time to get the party started!” One of the men shouts, turning up the volume and handing a bottle of alcohol to Sehun. He accepted the drink and took a sip from it. He found it quite hard to join in any of the conversations and found himself standing on the side of the room most of the night.

He felt a hand grab his arm and he lets himself get pulled by the unknown person to one of the smaller bedrooms. “You don’t know me, but I am Luhan, Jongin’s boyfriend.” Sehun stared at the male. If he could describe Luhan in one word, he would have used the word beautiful. Luhan had a large doe-like eyes and light, curly hair. Any person would die to have his looks. He knew it was a big deal since Sehun could only see in black and white now. ”I am happy that you are willing to help him in his final year project, I mean, he can’t stop talking about how well his project is going. I really am happy, but I am also very concerned. I am worried about what you are doing with Jongin. Are you seducing him? He doesn’t stop talking about you either.”

“Luhan hyung, I am honestly not seducing Jongin. I only want to help him with his project. I felt awful because I spilt coffee the first time I met him and it got all over his work and so I offered to help him. There is nothing going on between us, I promise.” Sehun explained, pulling his arm back slightly from Luhan’s grip.

“Alright, if you say so, but even though I will be gone in another country doesn’t mean you can pounce on him, alright?” Luhan snarled before walking away towards the living room. Sehun breathed heavily, regaining his composure before stepping out of the room and walking to the front door. He had had enough and was ready to go home.

“Hey, Sehun ah, where are you going?” Sehun turned to see Jongin smiling at him with a clear liquid in his hand.

“I am going home, I am feeling a bit tired and I think I want to finish my painting tomorrow.” Sehun opened the door, letting the cold air hit his skin.

“I can take you home, Sehun ah, the party is getting a little bit boring anyway. I think they are getting to the stage where they are getting a bit too drunk and I don’t particularly want to be there to look after them if they chunder.” Jongin laughed, walking behind Sehun.

“Jongin hyung, I think you should stay. You are the person who is studying medicine so you should be the one looking after them. Am I not correct?”

Jongin sighed with a sarcastic disapproving look. “Fine! I will stay, but call me when you get home so that I know that you are safe. I will see you again some other time, alright?” Sehun nodded before walking down the driveway, finally letting the tears that he was holding fall down his cheeks silently.

 

 

Sehun had been working on his painting for around three hours when his phone went off. “Jongin hyung? What’s up? Why are you calling?”

 _“H-he has gone. He has left me behind to go to China.”_ Sehun could hear Jongin sobbing across the phone.

“Are you still at the airport? Gimpo International Airport? If you are, then I will come to find you because you are definitely not in the position to drive yourself back to Seoul.”

 _“Y-yes I am.”_  Sehun stood up and left his apartment without a second hesitance, walking to the bus stop to take it to the airport. It was an agonising one hour before Sehun arrived at the airport. He ran to the waiting area where he knew Jongin would be waiting for him.

“Jongin hyung! Are you alright? I was so worried!” Sehun cried, rushing to the older male and enveloping him in a hug.

“Yes, I think I am fine. I think I have dried myself out of tears. I am actually feeling rather tired. It is weird how tiring crying makes you.”

“You can’t drive in this condition home! We can take the bus and collect your car back from the airport tomorrow.”

Jongin shook his head. “I can’t do that, parking here is extortionately expensive and I would cry if I saw my bank account. We can just sit at a café for a little while and let me gain some energy from drinking coffee.” Sehun nodded, walking towards a nearby café which was located at the front of the airport. “I am really sorry for making you come all the way here. I guess it was just a huge shock to the system to think that Luhan hyung has finally gone. I really didn’t think he would leave me so easily. Thinking about it, he should be arriving in Beijing soon. I told him to call me when he arrives and the flight is about one hour thirty minutes.”

Jongin’s phone rang and he answered the phone immediately. “Luhan hyung. I miss you so much already. Have you arrived? Good. I feel so much better after talking to you. Call me again when you get home, alright? Don’t worry about me, I was a bit upset at first, but I am feeling better now. Sehun is with me to keep me company. We are going to do some work together on my project. Well we are thinking about going through some of the questionnaire results that we have already collected. I also want to make sure his health hasn’t changed since last time. Alright, well we will Skype tonight. I want to see your face again because I miss you so much. I love you, hyung. Bye.”

Jongin smiled as he ended the call. “I think I feel better now, shall we drive you home now?” Sehun nodded.

“Jongin hyung, why did you lie to Luhan ssi? Why did you tell him that we were going to be working on your project?” Sehun asked when they got into the car and drove off towards the centre of Seoul.

“Luhan hyung told me off for talking about you before he left, so I have to be very careful with my words. I don’t see the problem with hanging out with you, you are my friend after all.” Sehun shrugged, letting silence take over the rest of the journey.

 

 

It had been two weeks since Luhan left Seoul to go back to China and Jongin was getting more and more concerned. The day his boyfriend left, they Skyped, but since then, they hadn’t spoken to each other since. Jongin had tried to contact the older male: calling his mobile phone (which rang through to voicemail every single time) and waiting for him to go online on Skype (which never seemed to happen).

It was in the evening that Jongin received a text from Luhan, requesting to speak to him on Skype in five minutes. Jongin hurriedly typed a response saying that it was fine by him.

When Luhan’s face appeared once the call had connected, Jongin smiled brightly at the older male. “Luhan hyung! I missed you so much! Why haven’t you called me?”

Luhan sighed. Jongin noticed the bags under the older male’s eyes and also the interesting new hair colour. “I’m sorry, Jongin ah. I have been really busy in trying to enrol. I just haven’t had the time. Tonight is pretty much the first time I have been free since arriving here. How is it for you back in Seoul?”

“Well it is alright, I am finding it hard without you. But I am coping, and I am trying to cook more complex meals other than instant noodles. How about you in China?”

“Well it is nice to be back home where everyone is speaking my mother tongue. But that isn’t why I wanted to call you right now. I have something really serious I need to talk to you about, and I am worried with how you will respond. The truth is, I think we should end our relationship.”

Jongin paused as he tried to take the information in, tears started invading his vision. “What? Is it something I have done wrong? I can change. Please don’t do this to me, I need you!”

“You haven’t done anything wrong. I have done the most awful things and in all honesty, I have been thinking about breaking up with you for a while. Long story short, I cheated on you. I didn’t tell you because I still loved you. And then when you started spending more and more time with Sehun and didn’t leave any time for me, I started cheating on you with more people. Coming back to China has been the best decision in my life really. I have met someone, and I really think I love him. We just sort of clicked. I know it is wrong for me to break up with you to chase after someone else, but I just think that we have lost the spark in our relationship.”

Jongin was lost for words. He could feel his eyes prickling as he tried to hold his tears from falling in front of the person he loved. “Hyung… please don’t do this to me. Please say that this is just a nightmare and tell me to wake up.”

“Jongin ah. It is the truth. I don’t want to lie and ruin your life further. You deserve to be happy too and I am holding not just you, but myself back too. I am so sorry for having to tell it to you in these circumstances.”

“You did it on purpose! You left the country so that when you told me, you wouldn’t have to feel guilty.”

“I still want to be friends with you, Jongin ah.”

Jongin could see the sorrow in Luhan’s eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to continue to look at the older man in the eyes. “You know that isn’t possible. We ruined four years of friendship by starting the relationship in the first place. I can’t believe that you cheated on me after five years since we first started dating. I trusted you.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Goodbye, Luhan ssi. Goodbye.” Jongin pressed the end call button, letting the tears finally fall down his cheeks. He stood up and left the house. It was raining, but he walked in an aimless direction along with the flow of traffic. He didn’t know what to think. How could Luhan have cheated on him and let Jongin continue to live life oblivious to it? And then tell him in a different country where he couldn’t go and approach the older male.

He walked around the city for around an hour before knocking on a door and revealing a shocked Sehun in his pyjamas. “Jongin hyung, what are you doing here at eleven at night? Wait, are you wet? Are you crying? Come in, I will lend you some clothes so you can have a shower.” Sehun pulled the crying male into his apartment and towards the bedroom to find some clothes. “Here, I think these will fit you. They are just some thin clothes, but I assumed you wouldn’t want to sleep in anything too thick.” Jongin nodded and headed towards the door without saying a single word.

Jongin exited the bathroom twenty minutes later in Sehun’s clothes. “I am sorry about my spontaneous appearance. I guess the news shocked me and I wasn’t sure how to process it. You were the first person that came into mind to get comfort from.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. It is getting late anyway, you can use the bed and I will just sleep on the sofa.”

“No, I want to tell you know. If I tell you, I think I will finally be able to over it and continue with life.” Sehun nodded, urging Jongin to join him on the sofa. “Luhan… he broke up with me. He said that he cheated on me and that he isn’t sure that he loves me anymore. It really hurt. I still love him so much.” Jongin explained as he cried. Sehun wrapped his arms around the younger male in comfort and whispered soft words of reassurance. “I knew a long distance relationship would be difficult, but I didn’t think he would have cheated on me.”

Sehun sighed, helping the older male stand up and they walked to the bedroom. Jongin got into the bed and lay down. “Don’t leave me yet.”

“I won’t.” Sehun smiled, grabbing Jongin’s hand and sat on the floor. He watched as Jongin fell asleep, his own eyes feeling heavy in the process. He woke up the next morning, in the same position, Jongin’s hand still holding his hand tightly.

 

 

When Sehun received a phone call from Jongin a week later, he ran to the older male’s house. “Jongin hyung? Are you okay? What is wrong? Tell me, hyung!”

“I- I can’t see. The colours. They have all gone!” Jongin cried, refusing to look up from his position. Sehun understood what Jongin was going through; the same thoughts that he experienced when it first happened to him, but worse. Jongin had been working so hard for many years trying to become a doctor and all of that could go to waste if he didn’t get it back soon.

“Jongin, it is okay. We can get through it. You have been so focussed on your work, but try to think of it as a positive thing and use it as part of your experiment. We don’t need to tell your lecturers yet. And if you get your sight back, you can talk about your experience of Greyscale in your assignment. Please don’t be sad.” Sehun suggested, walking over to the older male and hugging him tightly.

“There is no point. I don’t even know the cause of it. My life hasn’t changed at all and all of a sudden, I can’t see colours.” Jongin mumbled into Sehun’s shoulder, refusing to open his eyes.

“That isn’t true. Please don’t talk about it like that. You broke up with Luhan a week ago. Maybe it could be something to do with that?”

“There isn’t any point. The lecturers will find out. I have examinations in just over a month and they will catch me out. I don’t know how I will tell my parents about it. They funded my fees. All the money will have all gone to waste.”

“Jongin hyung, please stop talking so negatively. I know how you feel and I will help you get it back. Just please let me try.” Jongin looked up and stared at the younger male before nodding. Sehun felt his heart ache at the tear stains that he could see on Jongin’s cheeks. “Hyung, you said you have never drank alcohol before. So I am going to take you out clubbing.”

 

 

The building was underground, the walls were dark in colour (probably black). Jongin had difficulty adjusting to the contrast of greys that he could see. He could just about see Sehun’s outline in front of him as he followed the younger male to the bar. “Here drink this.” Sehun smiled, handing a drink over to the questioning male.

“What is it?” Jongin shouted over the music as he smelt the liquid, his face scrunching up.

“Vodka and coke. I wasn’t sure what you should have for your first time drinking alcohol, but I thought you should try vodka and dilute it slightly. It is nice, don’t worry!” Jongin lifted the drink to his lips, tasting the liquid slightly before pulling back in disgust, disliking the burning sensation in his throat. But then it tasted rather sweet. He gulped more liquid down before placing the glass heavily against the counter. “Don’t drink it too much. It is your first time so you don’t know your limits yet.”

Jongin nodded, his surroundings already starting to become a bit hazy. “I would like to order two vodka and cokes please.” Jongin got out his wallet and paid the barman before handing a drink over to Sehun. “Here. Cheers.” They hit their glasses together and finished their drinks before Sehun pulled the older male to the dance floor.

Sehun laughed as he watched the medical student try out many different styles of dance moves – ranging from serious popping to playful jumping.

More drinks kept coming, and soon, both males were having trouble processing their slightly compromising position: Jongin’s arms were wrapped tightly around Sehun’s waist, the younger males head was resting against Jongin’s shoulder. They swayed to the music, even though the music was much more upbeat to how they were making it appear to be.

The night continued, and Sehun and Jongin continued to dance, only focussing their attention on each other. The music slowed down slightly and they swayed in time to the music. Sehun lifted his head to face Jongin’s, seeing the older male’s eyes glitter in happiness despite losing his ability to see colour just earlier that morning. He leant forward slightly, his lips touching lightly against Jongin’s. His eyes widen in shock before pulling back, only to have the same pair of lips landing on his once again, soft but firm, as they moved together in synchronisation. Sehun’s eyes fluttered shut, his heart beating rapidly as he let Jongin take control in this moment. At this point, Sehun wished he had a camera to remember this moment forever but decided that it would be worth more, being treasured in his brain.

“Let’s go home now.” Jongin whispered into his ears before pulling the younger male out of the club and letting their fingers interlock as they walked along the dimly lit roads to the direction of the nearest house, Sehun’s.

They entered through the doors clumsily, towards the bedroom. “I am sorry for only having a single bed.” Sehun slurred as he took of his top and got underneath the covers.

“That is okay, we can just cuddle more.” Jongin took off his top and joined Sehun in bed, eager to kiss the younger male again. He pulled Sehun closer, taking in the warmth and kissing the back of the younger male’s nape causing soft moans to resonate from his throat. Sehun turned around to face the older male and hugged him, letting their legs entangle as he placed his lips against Jongin’s.

Hands roamed against each other’s bare skin as Jongin’s tongue pushed lightly against Sehun’s lips, which opened with ease, allowing Jongin to feel around Sehun’s mouth. “We should go to bed now.” Jongin whispered once their mouths detached. He was slightly breathless and found the younger male’s plump lips extremely enticing but he knew that he shouldn’t continue further, especially in his current state of mind. He pulled the younger male closer and let sleep envelop him.

 

 

 

Sehun had a huge headache the next morning. He opened his eyes slowly, mentally noting down that he was in his bedroom with some unknown person. It was a huge relief when he turned around to see Jongin’s face sleeping peacefully and not some stranger. He unravelled himself out of the older male’s grasp and searched for a t-shirt to cover his bare body before walking to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for the two of them.

To be honest, he was slightly concerned by the lack of memories he had of the previous night. He would have to ask Jongin what happened.

Whilst Sehun was cutting up some meat to add into his congee a pair of arms wrapped around his waist making him jump slightly. “Jongin! Don’t do that when I am holding a knife.”

“I’m sorry, you just weren’t there when I woke up so I was worried about where you were.” Jongin sighed, leaning his head against the back of Sehun’s nape placing a firm kiss on his neck causing the younger male to shudder from the sensation.

Sehun struggled out of Jongin’s embrace and continued to cut up the meat before adding it into the pan. “Jongin hyung, how much do you remember from last night? I don’t remember a lot and I am slightly worried because we both didn’t have tops on whilst in bed.”

“We didn’t have sex if that is what you are concerned about. To be honest, I really don’t remember much. My head aches so badly and I am having trouble fixing pieces of memory together. This is why I chose not to drink before last night.” Sehun walked to the table, holding the two bowls of congee that he had cooked, where two glasses of water was placed with a pill next to each of them.

“Here, have a paracetamol, it will ease the pain.” Sehun handed one of the glasses and a painkiller to the older male who accepted them. “So how much do you remember?”

“Well I remember you giving me a drink. Vodka and coke I think. And then we were dancing. I think we kissed to.” The younger male almost choked on his food, his cheeks heating up.

“W-we what?!”

“We kissed. We were both drunk you know. But it make me think. Is it possible for me to like you, even though I only broke up with my previous boyfriend of five years a week ago?” Sehun couldn’t understand how Jongin could say it so easily without feeling embarrassed. He could feel his whole body heating up with embarrassment.

“N-no! That is impossible. I read somewhere that it takes about half of the time you dated to get over that person.” Sehun stuttered, focussing all his attention on his meal.

The rest of the meal was in silence and Jongin stood up. “I heard the mobile funfair is coming to Seoul next week. Do you want to come? We can go together.” Sehun nodded and smiled. “Alright, well I will come round at five to pick you up. I will see you then.”

 

 

Sehun was nervous. Was this a date? Or were they going to go as friends? He didn’t know what to wear. He had settled with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, because they would be going out onto rides. He sighed in relief when Jongin was stood wearing similar clothes as him before grabbing his hand to walk to the nearby park where the funfair was being held.

It was all bright lights and many rides. There were a range of rides from a carousel to huge ones where the riders were flipped over. “Is there anything you want to go on?” Jongin asked, interlocking his fingers with Sehun’s. The younger male nodded, pointing at the bumper cars in the distance. Jongin pulled him along, paying the appropriate amount of money to the attendant before entering the arena, Jongin choosing a car different to Sehun.

The bell rang, and the cars started moving. Jongin drove forward in the direction of Sehun, hitting the car lightly causing the younger male’s car to jump back. Sehun burst out laughing, accelerating towards the other vehicles. The bell rang once again, signalling that the round had finished. Jongin got out of his car first, walking over to the younger male’s car to help him out.

Jongin pulled the younger male towards the carousel stepping in to one of the horses that two people could ride on. Sehun sat on the front and Jongin got on behind, wrapping his arms around the younger male. “I have to hold on to something, don’t I?” Jongin reasoned. The carousel began spinning causing cheers from the younger children. Jongin tightened his grip around the younger male making Sehun slap his arm lightly, complaining that he was struggling to breathe.

When the ride finished, Sehun went off to look at the carnival games, pointing at the large teddy bear that he had taken an interest in. The game was about throwing a basketball into the hoop at the top. Jongin paid for three goes and handed a ball to the younger male.

“I don’t really know how to do it.” Sehun blushed. Jongin placed his arms alongside Sehun’s and held the ball up in front of him.

“When you are ready, you just extend your arms and let go of the ball. Hwaiting!” Sehun tried it, releasing the ball with too little force causing the ball to fly off in a different direction. The younger male accepted another ball, trying again but missing the hoop by a little bit. He handed the final ball to Jongin, urging him to win the prize for him.

As Jongin held the ball above his head, he saw a blinding flash coming from Sehun’s camera. Jongin threw the ball up, hitting the back board before falling into the hoop. He was handed a bear, which he gave to Sehun, causing the younger male to squeal in happiness and hug the older man tightly. “You know, I feel as if I should be taking pictures now too since I can no longer see colours.” Jongin laughed, grabbing the camera from Sehun’s grip and took a picture of the younger male hugging the prize he had won for him.

The final ride they went on was the Ferris wheel. The queue wasn’t too long and the got on together, along with the teddy bear that Jongin had won for him. They stopped at the top, admiring the view of the lights of Seoul at night. “Did you enjoy today?” Jongin asked, his arm wrapped around the younger male’s waist. Sehun nodded, smiling at back.

“I did, thank you for bringing me out. It has been such a nice day.” Jongin leaned forwards, pressing his lips lightly against Sehun’s. His eyes opened wide, and he was certain that he could see colour just for a brief moment before letting his eyes close as he succumbed into the kiss.

 

 

“Are you sure?” Sehun was at Jongin’s apartment the day after they went to the carnival together.

“I am completely sure. I saw the colour of the teddy bear. It is a coffee brown sort of colour. I don’t know how it happened, it happens so quickly though.” Sehun explained, pointed at the teddy bear which laid at the corner of the living room.

“When did it happen?” Jongin wrote down what Sehun had said into his dissertation. Trying to work out what the cause was and why it only happened for a short period of time.

Sehun felt his cheeks heating up. “Wh-when we kissed. On the Ferris wheel. It happened really quickly and then I closed my eyes so it didn’t last long either.”

“Hmm, seems a bit coincidental. I lost my sight not long after breaking up with Luhan and you gain yours briefly when we kissed. Let’s have a look at the questionnaires to see if there is any correlation with any of the questions we asked.” Jongin reached over to his bag and pulled out all of the sheets of completed questionnaires.

He typed all of the results into a spreadsheet on his laptop. Several charts appeared on the screen and he pointed out a small correlation with the people affected.

“Do you think that could be it?” Jongin asked when he looked at the results. Sehun shrugged. “It could be anything to be honest. I am still certain that Greyscale isn’t a disease or an infection but just something to do with the mind.”

“It probably is to be honest. I mean, we have both been feeling just as healthy since getting it so it probably is the case. Oh, by the way, Jongin, I bought some hair dye. I wanted to dye my hair any colour so that when and if I can see colours again, I want to be surprised by it.” Sehun reached over to his bag, producing the box and handed it over to Jongin.

Jongin inspected the box reading the colour off the box. “Are you sure? What happens if you don’t like the colour? Pink is an incredibly bright colour after all.”

“I won’t be able to see the colour for a while. Pink will fade after some time surely? Plus, I am kind of getting bored of the colour it is right now.”

“I like the colour though, it suits you.”

“That is beside the point, you can only see it in a range of greys. Please Jongin, please can you help me dye it.” Sehun pleaded, using his aegyo to try to persuade the older male.

“Alright.” Jongin sighed, much to Sehun’s delight. They stood up, walking towards the bathroom with the hair dye in hand.

 

Jongin turned up rather out of the blue on a sunny evening. Sehun was sat at his easel in loose clothes as he continued to work on his paintings. “We are going out Sehun ah, so get changed.”

Sehun stood up, smiling, and exited the room changing into some casual clothes. He wondered what Jongin was possibly planning. Maybe he needed to do another test on him and needed Sehun to go to the hospital to do them. “Where are we going?” Sehun asked when he walked back into the living room.

“It’s a surprise.” Sehun could see Jongin’s eyes sparkle before accepting Jongin’s extended hand. It was a quiet walk to the destination. It wasn’t the hospital. It was the Han River. “I wasn’t sure where to take you, but I thought it would be pretty here. I also packed a little picnic so we can eat that as well. Do you like it?”

Sehun stared out to the open. In the distance, he could see the other side of Seoul. “I love it.” Sehun took out his camera, taking a picture of the distance before turning around and clicking the shutter at Jongin. “Sorry, I just don’t want to forget this moment.”

Jongin smiled, ushering the younger male to the blanket he had laid on the grass. Sehun followed, sitting on the mat and accepted the sandwich that Jongin had made. “Honestly, I am so nervous right now. I invited you because I wanted to tell you that I really like you. No, I am certain that my feelings aren’t the sort that friends would have. This is my confession to you, Oh Sehun.”

Sehun stared at Jongin with an unreadable expression. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to tell me anything now. Just being here and seeing your face has made my day. Just at least think about i-.” A pair of lips landed on his, halting his sentence. It was soft and Jongin could feel the emotion portrayed by it. Sehun pulled back, feeling slightly out of breath by the kiss.

“Jongin hyung, I really like you too. Don’t be silly for thinking that I didn’t like you back. Let’s just take it slowly, alright?” Jongin nodded, pulling the younger male into another kiss.

“Shall we go back home? We can watch a film or something.” Sehun nodded, accepting Jongin’s hand and they walked hand in hand towards Jongin’s apartment. They walked in silence, not knowing what to say now that they had become more than just friends. “What do you want to watch? I am sure I can find it on Netflix or something.”

“Surprise me.” Sehun smiled, sitting down on the sofa. Jongin joined him not too much later, putting his arm around the younger male’s shoulder. Sehun leaned over, resting his head on Jongin’s shoulder. “I think I like this new arrangement.”

Jongin placed a kiss on the top of Sehun’s head. “I still can’t believe you accepted me so quickly. I thought you would have been all against it.”

“Sometimes, we have to follow our heart before our head. I am currently thinking that this is all wrong because you only just broke up with Luhan, but my heart is telling me that this is the way it should be.” Sehun turned his attention to the film. Frozen. He had seen the film a couple of times already, but it felt different watching it in black and white. He would have to get used to watching films in those colours though.

“I like how at the end, instead of it being a true loves kiss that breaks Anna’s frozen heart, Anna showed unconditional love and sacrificed herself to save her sister. I just makes me think about the different types of love that exists.” Sehun says at the end of the film, his eyes feeling rather heavy.

“There are so many different types of love. It feels really good when you know that someone is there for you to support you, to love you.” Jongin stands up, helping Sehun up in the process. He led the younger male to the bedroom and handed him some light clothes that Sehun could sleep in.

“Don’t look as I get changed, Jongin hyung.”

Jongin laughed and turned away. “You can use the bathroom if you would prefer that. I need to get changed anyway, I promise I won’t peep. There is a spare toothbrush in the bathroom as well so you can use that.”

Sehun nodded and left the room, returning not too long later dressed in Jongin’s clothes looking (in Jongin’s opinion) really very sexy. Jongin exited his bedroom and walked to the bathroom where he brushed his teeth. A smile lit on his face as he remembered the day’s events and how lucky he felt to finally be able to say that Sehun was his boyfriend.

He walked back into his bedroom to find Sehun already in bed, sitting upright a smile lighting up on his face when he saw the older male enter. “We can sleep in a double bed instead of a single one unlike last time.” Jongin laughed, joining the younger male in bed.

He couldn’t help but notice the way Sehun’s body fit against his in a perfect way and he knew that he would be feeling rather tight in the lower regions when morning came. “I love you, Sehun ah. I really do.” Jongin whispered, placing a kiss on the younger male’s forehead.

“I know you do. I love you too.” Sehun replied and they let sleep envelop them, a smile on both of their faces.

 

 

 

“Jongin hyung, wake up.” Jongin moaned, it was far too early for him to be opening his eyes. “Seriously, please wake up.”

“What?” Jongin sat up, rubbing his eyes and turned to face the younger male next to him.

“Colours.”

 

 

“Kim Jongin, you can now go in and collect your final project results. The professor wanted to speak to you, which is why you are the last person to collect them.” Jongin stood up and walked through mahogany door, his heart beating rapidly as he entered the room.

It had been two months since he handed in his final year dissertation and three months since he got the colour back in his vision. He was still shocked that he could see colours again, it was so soon after he got Greyscale. But he was also really thankful because it meant that he would be able to continue studying his dream subject.

“Ah, Jongin ssi. Here is your project back.” The lecturer handed the wad of sheets with Jongin’s work.

“98%? Are you sure I deserve such a high mark?” Jongin stared at the front of the booklet. In red ink was the percentage given plus a ‘congratulations’ written on it.

“Ah, that is what I wanted to talk to you about. I really liked your work. Of course, you followed the obvious rules of getting a case study and doing a questionnaire for people to fill in. But what we found superb about your work is that you gave your opinion on what you think the cause of Greyscale. Sure, we don’t know if it is correct or not; but we found that your findings make sense. And of course it would be difficult for most researchers to find anything out about it as they are all in working relationships. You on the other hand experienced it so it helped back up your findings. Sure, I am a bit disappointed you didn’t tell us straight away that you had it, but you have outdone yourself and everyone. I am asking for your permission to send your work off to some of the leading researchers in the States for them to have a look at it. You will get the opportunity to visit them and see if you can help further with the research.”

“Well, certainly. I want to help society by as much means as possible.”

“That is great. I will send them your work and give them your contact details so that you can arrange a date and time to travel over. You may go now.” Jongin bowed deeply, thanking the professor before leaving the room. He picked up his phone and called the number at the top of his phonebook.

_“How did you do, Jongin hyung?”_

“I did really well, Sehun ah. The professor was really impressed. I actually have a surprise for you.”

 _“Oh tell me in a minute, hang on… Okay, turn around.”_ Jongin turned around to see Sehun standing there before running towards him and enveloping the younger male in a hug. A hand made its way to Sehun’s light pink hair, brushing through it lightly. It turned out that both Jongin and Sehun really liked the younger male’s dyed hair colour, and Jongin insisted that he should keep it the same colour the day they both restored the colour of their sight. “What was it that you wanted to tell me?”

“We are going to the United States, Sehun ah. We are going to see your parents.”

 

 

_Extract one_

_I wrote a questionnaire and handed it out to 68 people over the age of seventeen and noted down that the majority of the people who had Greyscale was single (with only a one person in a broken relationship and another person in a marriage that wasn’t working out). This made me consider that love could play a cause of Greyscale as I discovered that it is not a disease or an infection. This is due to my findings of my test subject having the same health both before and after contracting Greyscale._

_My opinion of Greyscale is that it is in everyone and that is untreatable, except by one thing: love. From the day we are born, we feel Storage (affection and family love) to our parents and siblings. I propose that the day you turn seventeen, this kind of love isn’t strong enough to fight off Greyscale so there has to be some other type of love which can keep us from continuing to see colour. This type of love is Eros (romance). This type of love is one of the strongest (other than Agape which is unconditional)._

_Extract two_

_Having experienced Greyscale myself, it was a huge shock to the system. I contracted it when I was twenty one, so four years after I turned seventeen. I couldn’t work out what the cause of it was. My life hadn’t changed too much other than the fact that I had just come out of a relationship. I met Oh Sehun a few weeks prior to that, and he agreed to be my case study for my project. Never did I expect him to become the colour of my life. We fell in love not too long after my break up, and pretty much the day after we confessed our own feelings, we could both see colours. I can now confidently say that I, Kim Jongin, will forever love Oh Sehun; the colour and light to my grey world_


End file.
